Google is to retain data captured from UK home wireless networks while carrying out its Street View mapping
until it receives more specific instructions from the UK Information Commissioner
, it said today.

Update: the ICO said it has already told Google that the data can be deleted - but Google stated it will not do so yet.

The company also faces the threat from the advocacy group Privacy International that it might be liable under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA) for unlawful interception of users' data – and that the group may try to get the police to instigate an investigation.

Google is already facing criminal investigations in Germany over its capture of the data from open Wi-Fi networks and faces further investigations from a number of European countries for possible breaches of data protection laws and, possibly, computer hacking.

It has deleted the data that was collected in Ireland, Denmark and Austria, according to those countries' wishes. That means there cannot be any threat of prosecution in those countries as any evidence for a court case is unavailable.

In a statement released on Friday, the company said: "Following requests from the Irish, Danish and Austrian data protection authorities we can confirm that we have deleted payload data identified as coming from those countries. We can also confirm that, as requested, we are keeping data from Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

"Given that there is some uncertainty about deletion generally – for example, one data protection authority changed its instruction from delete to retain in the last 24 hours – we think it makes sense to keep the remaining country data while we work through these issues."

Google later clarified that it is retaining the data for the UK
so that the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) can inspect it as required
. The data is being held in secure isolation. However the ICO restated that it has not required its preservation, reiterating a statement from earlier this week: "there does not seem to be any reason to keep the data concerned for evidential purposes. Therefore, in line with the data protection requirement that personal data should be held for no longer than necessary, we have asked Google to ensure that these data are deleted as soon as reasonably possible."

Google has insisted that it was trying to map the existence of the networks, which use the Wi-Fi standard, but that it accidentally left in computer code which collected actual data from unsecured networks.

The German
prosecutors
data protection authorities have requested access to one of the hard drives used in the data gathering – though Google has so far refused. German data protection officials have given the company until 26 May to hand over the system.

Google admitted last week that it collected 600GB of data from unsecured Wi-Fi networks around the world while collecting photos to Street View

The UK Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said on Thursday that the ICO did not want to "declare war" on Google over the matter and that it thought its response – which was initially to accede to Google's offer to delete the data – was "proportionate".

However, Google now appears to have decided to delay the deletion while it makes sure that no investigations have been opened; otherwise it might be deemed to have destroyed evidence.

Privacy International says that deleting the data would be "irresponsible" until its content has been investigated to see whether it does infringe the law. "We have directly put Google on notice that it is likely to be imminently subject to civil or criminal legal action as a result of the Wi-Fi interception," it wrote on its blog. "To eliminate the data would constitute destruction of evidence." It urged the ICO to rescind its earlier order to destroy the data: "We urge the commissioner to immediately rescind the order and allow Google to place the data in secure storage until such time as the legal questions are resolved.

"In the absence of a commitment from both Google and the commissioners to temporarily secure the data, Privacy International will seek a prosecution for unlawful interception under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act. In those circumstances there would be no question of destroying the data."Updated with statement from UK ICO that it is not seeking retention of data.Update with clarification that it is German data protection authorities, not prosecutors, who are seeking access to hard drive.